


My Command, My Children

by PrussianInAmerica



Series: An Empire Built on the Backs of the People it Tore Down [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character of Unknown Gender, Domestic, Gen, Young Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Young Hux (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 05:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6361738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrussianInAmerica/pseuds/PrussianInAmerica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo doesn't understand why Hux gets to stay up later than him, Hux doesn't understand why Lord Tamak'ine treats Ren the way they do, and Tamak'ine just wanted to get something to eat before going back to work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Command, My Children

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I keep promising more Zingiberaceous and not following through. I absolutely promise, promise, _promise_ that it'll be the next thing I post.
> 
> Alright, background!
> 
> -This takes place six years after the Battle of Endor, aboard a Star Destroyer called Enmity. It’s probably not a Resurgent class, but I have to do a bit more research before I can say for sure what it is.
> 
> -Kylo has been with Snoke since infancy, the dark side is all he knows. He was born a little less than a year after the Battle of Endor.
> 
> -Hux was given to Snoke willingly by his parents before the Battle of Endor and doesn’t really remember them. Having been born four years prior to the battle, he’s five years older than Kylo.
> 
> -Tamak'ine is Snoke’s apprentice, as well as Kylo and Hux’s caretaker. They do have a binary gender, but ~~it becomes important later on if I do this right and I don’t want anyone getting ideas before then.~~ Kylo and Hux do not know it, and Tamak'ine doesn't think about it much.
> 
> -I don’t know if Vader merchandise actually exists in their universe, but I like to think that Tamak'ine would have it custom made for him if Kylo asked.
> 
> Final note: I didn't grow up on Star Wars. My dad tried to get me into it for almost two decades and in that time I watched all of them once. I wasn't reading the EU my entire childhood just for fun. If you really want to know why all of this changed, it was because Tumblr was going nuts over Stormpilot. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so I watched all six movies and went to see Force Awakens in the theater. Then I spent the next three months making up for lost time. As such, this is my first story that doesn't take place in a modern setting and there are still things about this universe I don't know. If you do know these things and you see me make an error, _please_ let me know. I would rather feel a little embarrassed that I made a mistake and someone noticed but was good enough to point it out to me than find out later from my dad and realize that god knows how many people saw it, made fun of it, and didn't point it out. As long as no one's a dick about the mistakes I make, I'm happy to learn from them.

“Tama!”

Maybe it wasn’t what one usually wanted to hear after a long day, a child screeching one’s name loudly, but this child’s cries brought a weary smile to Tamak’ine’s face.

“Hux won’t share his books with me!”

Briefly.

The Sith Lord pushed a deep sigh from their chest and walked into the main room of the boys' shared quarters aboard the Enmity, finding them on the couch. Hux was sitting primly on one end, reading a book that was definitely too advanced for the young Lord Ren’s abilities, while Lord Ren glared at him as viciously as a five year old could from the other end.

“This is too advanced for you, Ren.” Hux contested without even looking up from the passage he was reading. “Go read your baby books.”

Tamak’ine braced for the tantrum that was sure to follow a statement like that. Sure enough, both Hux and Tamak’ine were clutching at the side of their heads in an effort to save their eardrums when Ren opened his mouth again.

“I am _not_ a baby!”

“You’re acting like one right now!”

“I’m not! I’m not, I’m not, _I’m not!_ " Tears were streaking down his pudgy cheeks, his skin was flushed an angry red, and the couch was taking quite a beating from his tiny fists. _Damage control._

Lifting a five year old was nothing to Tamak’ine, who trained hard every day they could, but lifting a screaming, flailing, upset five year old with the Force took a little more effort. It was the easiest way to calm the younger Force user, though, or Tamak’ine would never misuse the Force like this. Once he realized he was no longer inflicting damage on the furniture, Kylo opened his eyes and giggled a bit.

He drifted harmlessly to Tamak’ine’s arms and flashed one of his big, slightly lopsided grins at the Sith Lord, who smiled back gently. Hux scoffed from his place on the couch and turned back to his book.

“Time for bed, I think. It’s quite late.”

This pulled the grin out of existence, tugging the corners of the boy’s mouth down. “How come Hux gets to stay up?” Tamak’ine walked to Lord Ren’s bedroom and sat him down next to his closet, where he began changing into simpler clothes for bed.

“He’s much older than you. When you’re his age you can stay up, too.”

“Why can’t I _now?_ " He whined as he climbed into his bed, gathering one of his Darth Vader pillows to his chest and staring up at his mentor pleadingly.

“You need plenty of rest. It’s good for you.” The Sith Lord pulled the bedspread up and over the boy and tucked it in around him carefully.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“Not yet. I have work to do.” They turned on the small Vader nightlight near the bed, knowing the boy wouldn’t sleep without it. Not because he was scared of the dark, but because he said it was like Vader was watching over him when it was on. He liked that.

“Do you get to stay up even later than Hux?”

“Yes. Good night, Lord Ren.”

“Good night, Tama.” Tamak’ine dimmed the main lights and closed the door behind them as they left.

The Sith Lord passed Hux on their way to the small kitchen the quarters boasted, intent on satisfying their hunger before returning to work.

“Why do you coddle him so, Lord Tamak’ine?” The older boy asked as he set his book on the end table. He got up and followed them to the kitchen.

Tamak’ine began pulling ingredients and utensils out. “I don’t coddle him any more than I coddle you, Master Hux. Have you eaten?”

“I eat when Ren eats.” He huffed angrily and sat at the table. _Still hungry, then._ They set about making two sandwiches, one without mayo. As Hux liked it. “He doesn’t even call you by your proper title. _Tama._ He's such a _child._ " As if _he_ weren’t.

“As you say, he’s a child. I don’t expect the same things from him that I do from those under my command. I don’t expect them from you, either. You’re free to call me as you like.”

The boy sneered at the plate that was placed in front of him, sandwich cut into crustless triangles. He still picked one up and began eating it. Tamak’ine sat across from him, and for a few minutes the two of them ate in silence.

“Aren’t you supposed to be his master? He is under your command and he should address you as such.”

Tamak’ine sighed. “I am not the one who will train Lord Ren. Supreme Leader will handle that himself when the time is right.”

“And when will that be?”

“Soon.” The Sith Lord stood and placed their empty plates in the sink. “While Lord Ren is occupied with his own training, I will teach you to lead an empire.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of an idea I had for a much larger, more serious fic that I plan on writing later. It'll actually be my longest fic written to date, if I do it right. But it'll take a lot of time to write and research for, so I thought I'd post this now. Originally I posted it to my tumblr, and not much has been changed aside from a few errors made from typing too fast and one complete word change.


End file.
